The boss of a hotel in Bridgwater which caught fire yesterday evening (December 5) has criticised the fire service over its report about its alarm system.

Firefighters were called out to The Old Vicarage Hotel on St Mary Street in the town centre just before 8pm following reports from the management of smoke issuing from one of the first floor rooms.

Three rooms were affected and one was "destroyed".

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service's official log - which is available on its website - claimed that when the call was made to them, the hotel's alarms were "not activating", and had to be "activated manually" to alert guests and staff.

However, manager Mark Robertson has subsequently responded that this is "wrong", claiming that firefighters at the scene had praised how the situation had been handled by his staff.

He said: "The fire alarms were functioning perfectly normally. They did activate, and the staff were actually praised by the firefighters on duty.

"If the alarms were not working we wouldn't be open - it's as simple as that. We remain open for business."

Mr Robertson said that he would be taking the matter up with the fire service.

The comment about the alarms has subsequently been removed from the fire service's official log.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has amended its original log, which had made claims about the hotel's alarms

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